


The One That Survives

by A_Spark_Of_Hope



Series: Some Things Never Change [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Canon Era, Comfort Sex, F/M, Feels, Finger Sucking, Fluff and Smut, Grief/Mourning, Multiple Orgasms, Not Canon Compliant, Not Really Character Death, Oral Sex, Outdoor Sex, POV CT-7567 | Rex, Reunion Sex, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:48:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29783259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Spark_Of_Hope/pseuds/A_Spark_Of_Hope
Summary: “I’m memorizing you.”Another pang to his chest. Another moment testing his resolve not to simply break down and cry. Instead he laughed.“Memorizing me? As if you haven’t seen faces like mine a thousand times over.”“No,” she said. “There are no faces like yours.”
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex/Ahsoka Tano
Series: Some Things Never Change [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2124021
Comments: 22
Kudos: 62





	1. Take Me With You

**Author's Note:**

> You know how in Rebels after Ahsoka dies on Malachor, no one tells Rex?
> 
> What's up with that? Did they forget?
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

This wasn’t like Ahsoka. 

Granted, she had never been the sedentary type. If she wasn’t on assignment, she was either in the practice room, or in a conference room. But even in the latter, she was usually pacing around, always moving, never at rest. 

Rex had noticed it in bed too. More often than not, he was briefly woken by her suddenly rolling onto her side, or throwing an arm around him, or otherwise fidgeting in some way. Generally, he didn’t mind it. He just counted himself lucky that he was in a position to sleep next to her at all. But the way she’d been for the last few nights…

It just wasn’t like her. 

She’d spoken vaguely of a mission with Ezra and Kanan. Something about a trip to Malachor in search of answers. There were too many mysteries left before them, and as far as they knew the three of them were all that was left of the ancient ways of the Jedi. She needed to go, and she’d taken great care to explain this to him. 

But still, despite the confidence in her tone, and the determined way she carried herself, there was no masking the fear in her eyes. Something was bothering her. 

He found her in her usual practice room, her damaged sparring droid repaired and now attacking her on one of the highest difficulty settings. Rex said nothing, called no attention to himself. She knew he was here, he could see it in the stiffening of her spine as her mind became aware of a new, familiar presence. She finished the bout - victorious, of course - and spun around to greet him. 

Her face was covered in a sheen of sweat and her cheeks were flushed. The look of triumph that usually adorned her face after a particularly difficult practice session was absent, replaced instead with a too-serious look of grim satisfaction. On spotting him, she hastily rearranged it into a wide smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“Hey, Rex.”

“Hey, yourself.”

“Did you want to spar again?” she asked, trying to tease him and only half-succeeding.

“No. I just wanted to find you. In case you needed to talk.”

There was no “in case” about it. He knew she was burdened. He was no Force user, but that much was clear to him. And he couldn’t stand watching her let herself be crushed by the weight of her worries.

“I’m fine,” she said, no longer looking at him.

“Ahsoka,” he said, warningly. She was no green Padawan any longer. He couldn’t order her about - then again it’s not as though she listened to him, even when she should have - but neither would he let himself be so easily brushed aside. 

“This is about your trip to Malachor, isn’t it?”

She said nothing, as she turned away from him and carried her practice weapons back to their rack. She made a great show of wiping down the equipment slowly and deliberately, of replacing the sparring droid at it’s charging station. Finally, she knelt to pack up her belongings, and Rex found he wasn’t willing to wait any longer.

He joined her on the mat and knelt behind her, laying one of his rough hands on her bare shoulder. Her hand reached up to take his, and she squeezed his fingers tightly. Too tightly. 

Her shoulders shook once, twice, and finally Rex heard a sniffle. He spun her around, and she hastily tried to wipe her eyes. 

“Ahsoka?”

“You’re right,” she said, once she’d gotten her tears under control. “It’s Malachor.”

“When do we leave for the  _ Ghost _ ?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Are you scared?”

“I shouldn’t be. The Sith are gone. It’s nothing we can’t handle…”

“But?”

“But I can’t shake this feeling that it’s going to go wrong. I’ve been feeling it for a while now, and the closer we get to going, the worse I feel.”

“What exactly do you think is going to happen?” he asked.

She stood, and he followed suit.

“I don’t know, that’s the thing.  _ I don’t know _ . We aren’t supposed to dwell on visions of the future, what the Force chooses to show us is always changing. It’s nebulous.”

“What does this vision show you?”

They slipped out of the training room and took the turbolift towards Ahsoka’s bunk - their bunk, as it had become. 

“Darkness. Fear. Heartbreak,” she said, with a far-off look. “And then  _ nothing _ . That’s the worst part. I can’t see anything after Malachor. I can’t  _ feel _ anything.”

“That could just be because there’s so much uncertainty ahead, right?”

“Maybe,” she said, but she sounded unsure. 

The door to the bunk slid open. Rex sat on the bed and pulled her down beside him. He didn’t let go of her hand, but instead brushed against her knuckles with his thumb.

“Hey, it’s not like you haven’t gotten yourself into dangerous situations before. Sometime against my direct advice, if I recall.”

Ahsoka laughed softly.

“It doesn’t feel the same.”

“So don’t go,” Rex said at once. 

“Rex-”

“Don’t. Let Kanan and Ezra handle it.”

He never would have dreamt of telling her what she could and could not do. But in seeing her so distraught, he permitted himself a moment of selfishness. 

“I can’t. I have to go. I just…have to. I can’t explain it. I know I  _ need  _ to be on Malachor, and honestly, that terrifies me too. I’ve never once felt like I didn’t have a choice when it comes to the will of the Force.” 

She pulled free from his grasp and buried her face in her hands, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

“I’m not used to seeing you like this.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled from behind her hands.

“You never have to apologize to me,” Rex said gently. “Do you need a moment? I can find somewhere else to be.”

“Don’t!” Ahsoka said, her voice shrill. “Don’t go!”

Her beautiful blue eyes flooded with the same wild panic that infected her voice. 

“Please,” she said tremulously. “Don’t leave me.”

“Never,” Rex said, pulling her close. “I’m here as long as you want me to be.”

Tears spilled from her eyes unchecked as he held her face against his chest. Her panic gave way to sobs that shook her entire body. He said nothing, just letting her cry her heart out, fighting the temptation to do the same.

They had been in plenty of dangerous situations before, both together and separately. Neither of them was ever under the delusion that their safety was a guarantee. There was always the risk of not coming back alive. But nothing that he had seen had ever left Ahsoka this rattled. 

That scared him more than anything else.

But she needed him now, needed him to be strong and comforting. And there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. Eventually, her sobs turned into sniffles and she sat back, pulling herself out of his embrace. She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

“I’m- I’m sorry, Rex, I didn’t mean to-”

“What did I say about apologizing to me?”

“But your shirt,” she offered weakly, pointing at the mess her tears had made.

“-is nothing compared to you,” he finished. 

“I have a such a headache,” she muttered, pressing two fingers to her temple. “And I’m so tired.”

“Lie down,” he said, standing. 

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back, don’t worry.”

By the time he returned from the medbay, a flask of water in one hand and two tablets for her headache in the other, Ahsoka was half asleep. He sat her up, helped her take the pills, then slid into bed beside her and held her against his chest. She grasped one of his hands desperately, as though she were drowning and he was her sole means of survival. Gradually her breathing slowed, her grip on him slacked, and it wasn’t long before he fell asleep too.

The Clone Wars may have been long over but battle instincts were forever. Rex had barely closed his eyes when they flew open once again, a prickling sensation down his spine warning him to the fact that he was being watched. 

The automatic lights in the bunk had dimmed, signifying nighttime onboard the ship. The faint glow of computers and emergency systems was enough for him to see that Ahsoka had turned in his arms and was watching him sleep. It was something he’d caught her doing more than once before, but there was a different quality to it this time. Her eyes darted around his face with seemingly no rhyme or reason. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

She rested a cool palm against his bearded cheek. 

“I’m memorizing you.”

Another pang to his chest. Another moment testing his resolve not to simply break down and cry. Instead he laughed.

“Memorizing  _ me? _ As if you haven’t seen faces like mine a thousand times over.”

“No,” she said. “There are no faces like yours.”

“I love you, Ahsoka.”

She leaned in suddenly and brushed her lips against his. She dotted his mouth with a series of quick, desperate kisses, frantic even, as though he were about to disappear from her sight.

“You don’t have to-” he began.

“I want to,” she whispered. “Please. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow and I-” she rested her forehead against his. “I want this. I want to remember you, to feel you, to be with you-”

_ One last time _ . The words hung in the air between them, unspoken. Though he’d never have expressed as much to Ahsoka, would never have pressured her, Rex found himself wanting much the same thing.

He wrapped his arm around her lower back and pulled her hips flush with his, content to let her carry on kissing him, setting the pace. Her lips travelled beyond his mouth, trailing down to his neck. The featherlight, warm trail her mouth burned into him sent jolts through his body. He was dimly aware that he was growing harder by the moment, but didn’t dare move. Instead, he fought the urge to let his lids shut in pleasure, keeping them open and trained on any part of Ahsoka that he could see. He wanted his eyes to drink their fill of her, even knowing that to look at her every day for the rest of his life would still not satisfy.

He slid his hand down from her back and over the curve of her ass. His fingers gently squeezed the soft flesh, part permission and part entreaty for her to take things further. Fortunately for him, she got the idea.

“Still using hand signals to communicate, huh Captain?” Ahsoka teased, shifting away from him.

“Old habits die hard,” he shrugged, sitting up and slipping out of his shirt. Ahsoka rose from the bed and did the same. Rex, who had struggled with removing his pants without standing up, and settled for a decidedly unattractive flail of his legs, missed watching her undress. Instead, he was greeted with the sight of her standing by the bed, completely naked, giggling at his ungainly performance.

“Need some help?” she smirked.

“Wipe that look off your face,” Rex growled. “Get in here and let’s see if we can’t put that mouth to better use.”

He pulled back the covers and slid beneath them just as Ahsoka did as well. They lay on their sides, facing one another. He brought his lips crashing against hers. He licked along the seam of her mouth until she opened for him. Ahsoka threw one of her legs over Rex’s hip and pulled herself closer. Her core was pressed against him, and he hissed at the sensation. She rolled her hips tentatively, gasping into his mouth. 

“Already so wet,” Rex observed, his words muffled. 

“For you? Always.”

If at all possible, he grew harder at that. He knew she loved him, but it was quite another feeling to still feel desired after all this time. And for it to be  _ Ahsoka _ who desired him? He would never stop feeling like the luckiest man alive.

“Still? An old Clone like me?”

“Yes,” she breathed, “There’s never a moment where I don’t want you kissing me. Touching me. Fucking me. You make me feel so good, Rex.”

She was rolling her hips against him with more fervour. He wasn’t going to last if she kept this up. He seized her thigh and rolled her onto her back, wrapping her other leg around his waist as well. He pressed himself up and away from her, and her hips chased him in vain. 

“Slowly, Ahsoka,” he admonished. “I want to take my time with you tonight.”

_ I’m trying to memorize you too, _ he thought.

He took in every detail he could. The exact shade of her skin, the shapes and curves of the white lines that adorned her face. The pattern of her montrals and the creases in her lekku. He heard her whimper, and once again try to lift her hips to meet his.

“It’s ok,” he whispered. “I’m going to take care of you, just relax.”

He slid one hand between them and brushed carefully at her folds. The keening moan she let out nearly sent him over the edge. He teased gently at her clit, and slid two fingers into her core.

He slowly worked his fingers in and out of her, building her up until her hips rocked in tandem with his wrist, and her lips uttered the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard in his life. He kept his gaze on her, and watched as she came, throwing her head back while loud gasps ripped from her throat. He slowed his pace as she clenched around his fingers, and only when her breathing turned ragged did he withdraw his hand. 

He slid one of his fingers into his mouth, tasting her, and watching as her already-dazed eyes somehow grew more unfocused with arousal. He pushed his other finger between her kiss-swollen lips, barely holding himself together as she hummed in pleasure and sucked it clean. As he pulled free with a pop, she pressed the palm of his hand against her mouth and kissed him there too.

“Rex,” she said, squirming against him. “I want more. Please. I need-”

He cut her off by pressing the head of his cock against her entrance, then pushing all the way into her. He bottomed out and held there for a moment, letting her adjust to him.

“What happened to taking your time?” she gasped as he drew his hips back, then slowly pushed his way back in. 

“You said you wanted more,” he pointed out. “Besides, I just didn’t want you tiring yourself out right away.”

“And now?”

“I couldn’t wait.” Her laugh turned into a cry as Rex thrust into her again.

They didn’t speak again for a while. She sighed softly, matching his rhythm as he continued to withdraw from and sink into her heat. He maintained a slow pace, relishing the feeling of her surrounding him. She kept her long arms wrapped around his shoulders, her fingers tracing patterns in his skin. When he picked up the pace, their hips rocking together faster and more frantically, she dug her nails into his back. He felt himself getting close, and had the wherewithal to reach between her thighs once more and touch her until she fell over the edge. She clenched around him, crying his name, and he followed shortly behind with a stutter of his hips.

Later, having fully and thoroughly explored each other, they lay side by side and face to face once more. Again, she brought her palm to his cheek, and brushed her thumb against his beard. 

“I love you, Rex,” she whispered. “I always will.”

***

He spoke to her once more, as she flew to Malachor with Kanan and Ezra. He offered to join her, to help her, and she gently rebuffed him, teasing, as he knew she would. 

He maintained his supportive tone of voice for as long as she could see him, and long after the call had ended. She needed to know he believed in her. She’d once told him that she could feel him in the Force, and if that were true, even a little bit, then it wouldn’t do to let her feel how afraid he was. 

***

The Jedi returned, both Ezra and Kanan. Rex could immediately tell something had gone terribly wrong. As they disembarked from the shuttle and shuffled towards the common area of the  _ Ghost,  _ Ezra led Kanan by the hand. The older Jedi had been stricken in the face with something, and now both eyes were damaged and unseeing.

A chill had run down his spine at the Jedi’s expressions, but he wouldn’t dare let himself believe it. It couldn’t be true. He waited by the ladder. Waited for her telltale blue and white montrals, the lines and curves of which he’d long since memorized. But nothing. No sound. No visual. 

Ahsoka hadn’t made it back.

_ She knew this was going to happen _ , he thought bitterly.  _ She knew it that night. _ Rex was trying desperately not to cry. A good soldier knew that death in wartime was inevitable. And though nothing had been declared openly, the galaxy was very much at war.

Yet still, something coiled inside him. Something that threatened to spring free.

He channeled his feelings into anger, at the cruelty of a galaxy, of an all-powerful Force that would allow two beings to come together at last, to profess their love, to find such happiness after a lifetime of fighting and misery, only to snatch it away so suddenly.

He could hear them muttering quietly in the common room. He didn’t want to have any part of it. He slipped away into the shadows of the ship, into the darkness and solitude of his small bunk. 

The heartbreak was catching up to him now. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. The very air around him seemed to crush his chest. Every bone in his body longed for him to curl up on the floor and stay there until the pain went away. But it never would. So what was the point?

He opened up his small spacer chest, the one that held his few personal effects. He shifted aside the odd loose memento, the black clone trooper body suit that no longer fit him but he held onto for some reason that seemed important at the time. At the bottom of the chest lay a helmet, the last one he’d ever worn as a proud soldier in the Grand Army of the Republic. As commander of the 332 nd Company.

Her company.

His fingers traced the weathered orange paint, the faint lines of white designed to resemble the markings on her skin. Markings with which he’d recently become intimately familiar. The company had all painted their helmets in a show of support, a way of welcoming her back into the fold. The Jedi might have thought she was one of them, but the men of the 332 nd claimed Ahsoka Tano for their own and honoured her accordingly.

And now it fell to Rex, the last surviving member of the company, to honour their de facto commander one final time. 

He knelt on the hard floor, ignoring the protests of his knees, and pressed the forehead of the helmet against his own. His knuckles went white as he clung to the very last shred of her still in his possession. The old, dirty plastoid was a poor substitute for the warmth, the joy that was Ahsoka, but still he held on until his grip tightened so much that the helmet slipped out of his hands. The clanging of the bucket as it hit the hollow floor startled him, awakening him to the sharp new reality he was now faced with.

_ Please,  _ he thought.  _ Please don’t leave me. _

But Ahsoka was gone. And she was not coming back.

_ I love you, Rex. I always will _ .

With her voice echoing in his ears, memories of their last night together swimming in his mind, Rex finally, finally allowed himself to cry.


	2. Come Back To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He placed a hand on her cheek and she leaned into his palm. 
> 
> “I’m not ready to wake up just yet,” he finished. 
> 
> “Rex,” she said, shaking her head. “I promise this isn’t a dream, however much it feels like one.”
> 
> “I’ve heard that in dreams before too,” he said sadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how in Rebels when Ahsoka and Ezra come back from the World Between Worlds and then she and Rex don't see each other again?
> 
> What's up with that??
> 
> This wound up being a longer reunion than I anticipated. I actually had to cut some stuff out (I'll bring it back in another one-shot). 
> 
> Enjoy!

A lifetime of loss meant that Rex should have been well-equipped to handle it. He’d seen his brothers fight and die for a common cause that made less and less sense as the Clone Wars raged on. The allies he’d made in the years since had always been fleeting, temporary, but it didn’t mean losing them didn’t hurt. 

Two standard years was a long time by many metrics. It was long enough for the tide of war to shift, for the conflict against the Empire to grow and reach a boiling point. Long enough for Rex to become so entrenched with the crew of the  _ Ghost _ that when Kanan Jarrus gave his life for the others, Rex mourned the loss as he would have any of his brothers. 

And then there was Ahsoka. Two standard years were long, but not long enough to entirely erase the grief of losing Ahsoka. 

He’d slowly found he was losing pieces of her as the years wore on, and each little loss brought with it a fresh wave that threatened to overwhelm him. It started when her scent disappeared entirely from his bunk. He’d gone aboard her ship to claim her few belongings, and that had helped for a while. But eventually, all evidence of her had disappeared from those as well. 

Then it was the realization that when he pictured her face, her voice, it had changed into an idealized version of her. A mere memory. The voice didn’t sound quite right. The face wasn’t quite hers. A hollow version of everything she was, lacking in her nuance. 

But worst of all were the days where he managed to go several hours without thinking about her at all. So focused was he on the task at hand, that it wasn’t until he’d returned safely to his bunk that he realized he’d achieved some semblance of the normalcy of his life before. As if this were one of those times where they had to live separately, counting down the days until their next reunion. The overwhelming guilt at times like this was almost as destructive as his grief had been in the early days.

But the nature of wartime meant that there was little time to dwell on things. So Rex carried on. He served the Rebellion, as he’d served the Republic before it. This was what he’d been bred for, after all. He was good at it, and he even enjoyed it. 

A small part of him also took satisfaction in knowing that he fought for the cause Ahsoka had believed in so strongly too. 

The Rebellion was preparing for something big. Rex could feel it in his bones. The bulk of their forces were concentrated on Yavin, but he chose to stay with the small band on Lothal. He’d spent too much of his years in service focusing on the bigger conflicts, letting smaller worlds fall by the wayside. He knew better now and would stay where he was needed. 

That afternoon, the base was quiet. It had been ever since Kanan died, when the seriousness of the conflict was really driven home for everyone. Ezra was off on some mission, and no one knew when he was expected back. 

Rex had gone out to the supply shed with the intention of doing inventory on everything they’d gathered. With a fight looming on the horizon, a good squad always knew what their assets were at all times, and they would be no exception. With no subordinates available to perform the task for him, Rex headed out there alone. A good leader led by example after all. And he would be grateful for the solitude in any case.

He lost himself in the numbers, in the endless crates of weapons and survival essentials. This reminded him so much of the Clone Wars, he almost felt like a young man again. He had vague memories of supervising inventory for the 501st, and of teaching Commander Skywalker’s padawan the ins and outs of logistics.

He felt something squeeze his chest. It was the same sensation he felt every time he thought about Ahsoka, though he had to admit it was gradually becoming less and less painful. It hurt, but it no longer debilitated him, not if he didn’t let it.

He was so caught up in his memory, that he could have sworn she was calling to him, even now-

“Rex?”

No.

He was hearing things. He had to be. A side effect of nostalgia.

Because Rex was a realist. He had spent two years, two  _ long, miserable _ years convincing himself he’d never hear her again. This was his mind playing tricks on him. How many dreams had he had since that terrible day that began exactly like this?

And yet. That voice was so perfectly, indescribably her. Something his imagination and memory had never been able to reproduce. He turned around slowly. 

If he thought he was prepared to see her again, he was sorely mistaken. 

Ahsoka stood in the doorway as though not a day had gone by since they last saw each other. Her stance was stiff and hesitant, her entire body lit in silhouette from the bright light of the sun outside.

“You- you can’t really be here,” Rex whispered. “This isn’t real.”

He glanced at the floor. It was far safer than glancing at the apparition in the doorway.

“Rex?” she said again, her voice shaking. Broken. “Rex, look at me. Please.”

“You’re a memory. Or a dream,” he said, shaking his head. 

“I’m not,” she said carefully. “I promise you, I’m not.”

Rex’s legs became quite incapable of holding him up any longer. He sank slowly down, sitting on the nearest supply crate, still not daring to look at the woman by the door. 

She was before him in an instant, kneeling on the ground so they were eye to eye. She reached up and took both of Rex’s hands in her warm ones, their fingers interlacing as though it were second nature. 

“Am I-” Rex said, pausing as a lump formed in his throat. “Have I died? Is this the afterlife? I don’t know how else I’m seeing you.”

Ahsoka kissed his weathered knuckles, her lips soft and warm.

“No, Rex,” Ahsoka said, her eyes brimming with tears as his were. “You’re still very much alive.”

“And you? How are you here?”

“It’s a long story,” she said, cupping his face as she’d done so many times before. “One I promise I will tell you soon, but-”

He cut her off with a sudden, gentle kiss. 

The familiarity of the gesture, the way her hands felt against his skin made his heart confirm what his brain doubted. But there was only one way to convince all parties involved. Her full lips pressed more insistently against his, the scent of her skin and the taste of her overwhelming his senses. His mind finally caught up to his heart. 

“You’re real,” he breathed, pulling away. 

“Told you,” she smiled. 

He ran the back of his fingers affectionately along her cheek.

“Besides,” she quipped, “you’d think the afterlife would look a  _ little  _ nicer than this.”

He slid down to the hard floor until he was kneeling in front of her, and pulled her into the tightest embrace he could manage with his every nerve still trembling in shock. She returned the gesture with equal enthusiasm, burying her face into his neck. A gentle tickle where her face met his skin told him that she was crying properly now, and he allowed himself to do the same. 

He lost count of how long they knelt there. His knees had gone numb but he barely noticed. Instead, he felt their chests press tightly together, two frantic heartbeats slowing down until they beat in tandem. When he eventually did break away from her, he did so only because it meant he could look at her face, a face he thought he would never see again. 

She looked exactly as she had the last time he’d seen her. It was true, he aged faster than most, but she hadn’t aged at  _ all _ . The only difference he could see in the face he knew so well was buried deep in her eyes. There was a sadness there, and a wisdom, as though she’d come back in possession of far greater knowledge than she’d had before.

“I missed you so much,” Rex said, settling more comfortably on the floor, and leaning against a crate. Ahsoka sat next to him and gathered her knees close to her chest. His knees only bent halfway and he envied her the flexibility his aging body would no longer allow, despite his excellent physical condition.

“How long was it?” she asked. “For you?”

“Two years,” he said, shaking his head. “The longest two years of my life.”

“Two years,” Ahsoka repeated, sounding disbelieving. 

“Why? How long was it for you?”

“For me, the last time I saw you was three days ago. I’ve missed  _ so _ much. Things are changing all around me, the Rebellion went on without me. I’m used to hectic, but I feel like I’ve been dropped into a fight I barely understand anymore. It’s too much.” 

“Ahsoka, the details may have changed, but the fight is still the same. The cause is the one you’ve always fought for.”

Ahsoka looked at him, her brilliant eyes shining in amusement. She leaned into the crook of his arm.

“Since when did you start making sense?” she teased.

“Since always. You’re just too stubborn to listen.”

Rex continued to stare at her, his heart bursting with longing, the desire to pepper every inch of her face with kisses. Ahsoka unfolded her body, slid onto Rex’s lap, and straddled his legs. She tilted his head up and lowered her lips to meet his. 

“You can read my thoughts?” he asked, alarmed, giving her pause.

“No,” she grinned. “Just your facial expression.”

“We don’t…you just got back…” Rex said in a last-ditch attempt at gallantry.

“Should I stop?” Ahsoka mumbled wickedly, now nibbling at his lower lip.

She gasped in surprise as Rex pressed his palms against her spine, which forced her to sit upright. With her neck now level with his face, Rex ghosted his lips over her skin.

“ _ I’m  _ the one who had to live without  _ you _ for two years,” he whispered. “That’s a long time to live thinking I’ll never taste you again.”

He pressed gentle kisses to the base of her throat and slid his hands down to rest at her hips, noting with satisfaction how she sighed and shivered at his touch. One of her arms wrapped around his shoulder, while her other hand pressed his head more insistently against her neck. His kisses became more insistent too. He marked the skin at the juncture of her neck and shoulder before working his way up and towards her jaw. He removed his hands from her hips and settled them on her lekku. He stroked them tenderly and smiled against her as her sighs became higher and more drawn out. 

“ _ Rex _ ,” she breathed. 

He froze. He’d spent years coming to terms with the fact that he would never see or feel her again, never hear her calling his name in either friendship or in ecstasy. The dreams that haunted him at night always felt like this - so real he would have sworn she was really there. And inevitably when he woke in the morning, he would feel even worse and more desolate than he had before. 

“Why did you stop?” Ahsoka asked, angling her body to meet his eyes. Her eyes were mildly unfocused and her pupils were wide with arousal.

“I’m still not convinced I’m not dreaming,” he admitted. “This feels too familiar.”

“You’ve dreamt about this before?”

“However it starts, it always ends up here. With you in my arms begging me to touch you. As soon as I do, whatever I do to you, as soon as you’re moaning for me, I wake up.”

He placed a hand on her cheek and she leaned into his palm. 

“I’m not ready to wake up just yet,” he finished. 

“Rex,” she said, shaking her head. “I promise this isn’t a dream, however much it feels like one.”

“I’ve heard that in dreams before too,” he said sadly.

Ahsoka considered for a moment.

“You mentioned touching me in dreams before. Have I ever touched you?”

Her hand drifted between them and hovered there, not quite touching his cock. She raised a brow, waiting for his answer. He searched his memory, then brightened.

“No. In dreams, you never do.”

“Well,” she said in mock indignation. “That doesn’t seem very fair.”

She palmed him through his pants. The current that passed through him then felt very,  _ very _ real. His groan encouraged Ahsoka, who squeezed him lightly.

“What if I touch you this time? Will that convince you?”

She watched his face, waiting for his permission. Rex couldn’t nod fast enough. She slid a little further down his thighs and unfastened his pants, freeing him from the deeply painful strain he hadn’t realized he’d been under.

She wrapped her long fingers around him, and brushed against the head of his cock with her thumb. Smiling at his reaction and the subtle buck of his hips, she slowly began to stroke him. Encouraged by the fact that he hadn’t yet woken up alone and with a painful erection, Rex grew bolder. He allowed his hips to rock marginally upwards, thrusting to meet her strokes. 

“You like this?” she asked, her voice low and sensual. “You missed having my hands on you, is that it?”

She squeezed him at the base. Rex nearly came apart right then and there. 

“Ahsoka,” he said desperately. “Faster. Please.”

“Well, since you said please…” she said, speeding up very slightly.

“Tease.”

Ahsoka worked to bring him to the very pinnacle of bliss. She pumped her fist faster and faster around him, grinding herself against his leg at an inconsistent rate. Rex felt the pressure building within himself, and his focus fell entirely away from Ahsoka as his body tensed and he spilled in her hand and on their stomachs. 

“Convinced?” she asked with a smile, cleaning her hand with her mouth.

“Not quite,” he panted, “I want you to touch yourself now.”

“How is that going to-” she began.

“Ahsoka,” he said sharply, somehow managing to summon his authoritative tone despite the vulnerable position he was in. “Touch yourself. I feel how wet you are and I’ve gone too long without watching you come.”

“Yes, Commander,” she whispered, slipping her free hand under the band of her pants. 

If he’d been a younger man, and able to bounce back quicker, the sight of her pleasuring herself at his command might have made him grow hard again. As it was, it took a great amount of restraint not to help her along in any way. Instead he sat back and watched as her hips rolled in time with her wrist.

“Close your eyes, Ahsoka.”

She did as he asked, obscuring her sapphire eyes from his view.

“I want you to imagine that I’m the one touching you. That it’s my hand making you feel good, my fingers that are hitting that spot inside you. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” she sighed. He squeezed her thighs, prompting her to add, “Yes, Commander.”

“Such a good girl, she finally learned how to listen.”

Ahsoka’s breath hitched in her chest and her legs were beginning to shake. Rex lay one of his palms between her legs, covering her hand with his own but separated by the thin material of her leggings. He stroked her hand with his fingertips.

“ _ Rex,” _ she sighed. Her thighs tensed again and she let out a series of short, sharp gasps, her head rolling back as she came.

She carefully withdrew her hand from between her legs. Rex pulled her down into a quick, messy kiss, before letting her slump forward onto him.

“Convinced now?” she laughed against his chest.

“Yes,” he said, joining in her mirth. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her. 

“Ahsoka?” a woman’s voice called from the doorway. “Are you in here?”

“Sabine!” Rex whispered in alarm.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Ahsoka called, barely surpassing hysterical laughter.

“Ezra’s looking for you,” Sabine called.

“Be right there!”

“Uh-huh,” Sabine said suggestively as she slid the door to the shed shut. 

“How long do you think she was standing there?” Rex asked, crinkling the corners of his eyes in amusement.

Ahsoka groaned and let her forehead hit his shoulder.

***

Rex spent the rest of the afternoon in a state of jumpiness he hadn’t felt since he was still a cadet. He was only half focused on his tasks, his mind constantly wandering back to a certain beautiful Togruta he thought he’d never see again. If he hadn’t occasionally seen her wandering around in the distance, he might have persuaded himself that it was all a dream. Finally, as the sun began to set over their base, Sabine sent him away from the  _ Ghost  _ after repeating a request a handful of times, claiming that if he wasn’t going to be of any use to her then he might as well go take care of whatever else it was that occupied his thoughts.

“Or, you know.  _ Who _ ever else,” she added with a sly grin.

“About earlier,” he began “How much did you-“

“Not much,” she said quickly. “But…I heard enough.”

Sabine gave him an exaggerated wink, and Rex took off before he had the chance to become properly embarrassed. 

In his bunk, he gathered some supplies into a pack, then retraced his steps back to Sabine and asked her to pass along a message to Ahsoka about where she could find him. After giving him yet another massive wink and a handful of innuendo-laden comments, Sabine agreed to pass on the message.

Rex walked away from camp and out into the evening. The heat of the day was burning off, giving way to the kind of comfortably cool breeze that provided relief at this time of year. The further away he got from the base, the quieter the landscape became, and the more the indigo sky revealed thousands of winking silver stars.

The sun was just disappearing over the horizon when Rex reached his destination - an isolated hilltop partially surrounded by rocks, with a small fire pit in the centre. He settled his pack on the ground and began to empty the contents. 

By the time Ahsoka joined him, a small fire crackled in the pit. He had also spread several blankets onto the ground, and it was here that he sat waiting for her, a bottle of liquor and two glasses waiting beside him.

“What’s all this?” Ahsoka asked, her face lighting up.

“I think you and I have spent far too much of our lives indoors,” he said, patting the spot next to him. Ahsoka toed off her boots and settled on the blanket, while Rex filled the two glasses and passed one to her. It was the last of his personal reserves that he’d purchased in town. He didn’t trust the jet fuel those younger pilots brewed themselves. He’d caught a whiff once and that was nearly enough to stop his heart.

“This is nice,” Ahsoka said, sipping her drink with her head tilted up to the stars. “Is it safe out here?”

“Mmm. I set up all the necessary protections the first time I came out here, don’t worry.”

“You’ve come here before?”

“I used to come here a lot. After...after Malachor.”

“Oh.”

“At first, I just wanted to be alone. It started to feel really cramped on the  _ Ghost _ , and you know I’ve never minded camping out. After a while though, I started to feel like…”

He trailed off, embarrassed by what he’d nearly admitted to her.

“Felt like what?” she asked him gently. He sighed.

“It was almost like…you were here too. Somewhere out there.” He gestured out beyond them at the flat landscape and the field of stars. “I could  _ feel _ you here, somehow.”

“The Force is strong here,” Ahsoka said, staring out into the darkness. “And I was dead for a time, so I suppose it’s possible some part of me  _ was _ out here with you. I know it’s where I’d choose to go.”

Rex gaped at her, her words echoing around his mind. 

“I think it’s time you explained what happened.”

Ahsoka downed the last of her drink and Rex did the same. She turned to face him and did her best to explain what exactly had happened to her. She told him about the Sith temple, how she’d been caught in the temple when it was collapsing, and thought she was as good as gone until Ezra - a slightly older Ezra than she remembered - pulled her through a portal. How they’d found a realm located between all space and time, everywhere and nowhere at once. 

Rex shook his head.

“That’s a lot to take in,” he admitted. 

“Imagine hearing you’ve actually been dead for two years because the temple just crushed you the first time around.”

“I feel like there’s more to this story,” Rex said, noting the haunted look that danced behind her eyes. 

“There is,” she said, lying on her back and gazing at the sky. “Another time. It’s too beautiful a night for all that.”

Rex lay down next to her, and she immediately scooted herself closer to nestle in the crook of his arm. She lay her hand over his heart, which increased it’s tempo at once at the warmth of her touch.

“Sabine heard us,” he blurted out suddenly, remembering the way the younger woman had teased him. “Earlier today.”

“What?!” Ahsoka exclaimed. “Oh nooo.” 

She buried her face in her palms. 

“If it’s any consolation, you sounded like you were having a great time,” he laughed. She swatted him. Her cheeks were flushed so dark he could see them even in the dim light.

“I’m so embarrassed,” she muttered.

“Another benefit of coming all the way out here,” he smirked. “We’re too far out for anyone to hear us.”

“Sounds dangerous, doesn’t it?” she said lightly.

“Depends. Do you consider me a threat?” he growled, rolling them so that he lay on top of her. 

“Only to my reputation on base,” she laughed. 

As loathe as he was to cut short such a beautiful sound, Rex leaned down and slanted his mouth against hers. Humming in delight, Ahsoka seized the back of Rex’s head and pulled him closer, nipping at his mouth until he got the idea and let his lips part. Their tongues swirled together, the taste of her masked by the lingering spicy sweetness of the liquor. 

Rex let his hands wander down her body, bringing them to a rest at her hips.

“Ahsoka,” he rasped, pulling away from her. “Can I-”

“Yes,” she said at once.

“I’ve been thinking about this for so long, and I never thought- If it’s too fast, tell me. ”

“I will.”

“I love you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t. I trust you.” She pressed up on one of her forearms and kissed him softly, stroking his cheek. 

“I love you,” she whispered.

Rex grasped at the hem of Ahsoka’s shirt and rolled it up and off of her. The wraps that bound her chest stood in some contrast against her skin. He plucked the loose end out and slowly began unwilling the fabric until her breasts were exposed, her nipples hardening in the cool air. With the wrap tossed to the side, he cupped her in his palms and pinched the raised flesh. Ahsoka, gasped sharply, arched her back and leaned into his touch.

“Rex.” Ahsoka clawed at his shirt. “Let me see you. Let me feel your skin on mine.”

He sat back and removed his hands from her. At once, her skin was covered in small raised bumps. She wrapped her arms around her chest to ward off the sudden chill he left in his wake. He lowered himself back onto her, the warmth of her body now flooding his. Her chest pressed against his torso, as he nibbled at her jaw reverentially. Ahsoka moaned softly, rolling her hips against the leg he’d left pressed against her

“So responsive,” he muttered, kissing his way down her body. He lingered at the valley between her breasts, smiling against her skin as he felt her fidget beneath him. Her fingers took up the task of attending to her nipples, which he had sorely neglected in his mission to kiss as much of her as possible.

“More,” she sighed. “I want more.”

“Getting greedy, are we?” he teased. He slid his hands down to her waist, pushing her leggings far down enough that he could comfortably plant his thigh directly against her damp underwear.

“That’s it?” she whimpered.

“I’m not quite done kissing you,” Rex said. “But by all means.” He pressed his thigh more insistently against her sex, “take what you want. Make yourself come.”

Ahsoka ground against his leg with increasing fervour. Her hands fell away from her chest, and he replaced them with his own gladly. Her breaths came in quicker and quicker. She dug her fingers into his biceps and she rolled her hips. He resumed nipping at her jaw while whispering words of praise and encouragement. When she finally came with a strangled gasp, Rex kissed the corners of her open mouth until the tension drained out of her. 

“Rex.” She let go of his arm and slid her hand between them to palm his hardening cock. “Please. Need you inside me.”

“I know,” he bit out, using all his restraint not to rub himself against her hand. “But I have two years of lost time to make up for.”

He sat back on his haunches. Her incredulous expression brought him far too much joy, and he fought not to smile.

He slowly peeled her pants all the way off. Her underwear followed suit, and soon enough she lay before him completely bare, her eyelids heavy.

“That’s two years without seeing you like this, ready for me,” he said, running his palms up her silk-smooth thighs. “Without touching you. Feeling you around my fingers.” He dipped a single digit between her folds and pressed lightly at her entrance, dipping in only slightly before dragging his finger up to brush her clit. He circled it just long enough to draw pleas from her lips. Then, amid her sputtering protests, he withdrew his hand, spread her legs a little and slid down her body until his head was inches from her core. He could feel the heat radiating off her as he set her heels on his back.

“I was even starting to forget what you tasted like,” he mused, kissing his way up her thighs. His beard left a trail of raised flesh in its wake. She trembled in anticipation as he took his time, kissing her legs and stroking her hips. At last, he firmed up his grip on her and abruptly brought his lips to her little bundle of nerves. She cried out sharply and clamped her thighs around his head. Rex smiled, kissing and sucking at her clit. The brush of his lips was swapped out for broad swipes of his tongue, and the occasional gentle pressure from his teeth. He could feel her legs shaking as she held onto him, and could faintly hear her whispering his name like a prayer. She was close, then. He feasted on her with renewed fervour until she came apart with a cry, her arousal coating his beard. He slowed down as she ground against him, only stopping once she’d relaxed her legs, and let them fall to the side.

“How are you feeling, Ahsoka?” he asked. She mumbled incoherently in response, one of her arms laying weakly across her eyes.

“Do you think you can give me one more?” he asked gently. She peered blearily down at him in disbelief. “I haven’t quite had my fill of you.”

“Rex, I don’t think- _ Ooh” _ , she moaned as he pushed two fingers into her, sinking in up to the knuckle. 

“What was that?” he teased. “Should I stop?”

“ _ Don’t! _ ” she begged. “ _ Please. _ ”

“Hmm, I thought so,” he smiled. He pressed forward once again to take her bud into his mouth. He teased her clit with his lips and tongue while his fingers curled inside of her, and in no time at all he was stroking her through the aftershocks of her third orgasm.

_ I can’t wait anymore _ , he thought. Yes, he’d wanted to take the time and rediscover her body, but the way his cock pressed insistently against his pants could no longer be ignored. He removed the last of his clothing, freeing himself and breathing a sigh of relief.

“I’m-I’m so sorry, Rex,” Ahsoka panted, as he undressed. “Can you give me just a second?”

“Of course,” he said quickly.

“One minute,” she said, holding up a finger for emphasis, in a gesture that was so adorable he thought he might cry. “Then I’m all yours.”

Rex propped himself on his side next to Ahsoka, watching as her breathing became more regular and her limbs regained some of their strength.

“OK,” she said at last, turning to face him. “I’m ready.”

Rex scooped her up and rolled so that he was on his back with Ahsoka lying on top of him, their legs tangled. He let one palm wander down her back, caressing her, while the other cupped her cheek. He covered her swollen lips with his, taking his time and drawing out soft gasps from both of them. She pulled away, suddenly.

“I’m fine Rex, we can-”

“I said the last thing I wanted was to hurt you,” he said, shaking his head. “I can slow down.”

“But I feel so empty without you,” she whispered, shifting against his erection, as if trying to line herself up without looking. She pushed herself up and away from him, angling her hips over his. He took himself in hand and helped guide her until she was sinking down on his cock. He nearly came right then, feeling her walls surround him, clenching in vain against the stretch. 

She lifted herself up and sank back down with a sigh. She repeated the motion a few more times, the sighs transforming into the most exquisite moans as he rocked his hips up to meet hers.

“Ahsoka,” he ground out. “I want you to do something for me.”

“Anything. Anything you want.”

“I won’t last much longer. Touch your clit, I want you to come around me.”

Her long fingers immediately set to the task as she continued to grind against him, her writhing body lit by the flames like the most sensual dreamlike apparition. 

“Stars, Rex,” she moaned quietly. “I feel- it’s-”

“We’re alone out here,” he reminded her. “You don’t have to stay quiet.”

“I-”

“Scream if you want to, Ahsoka,” he said, pushing her hand out of the way and brushing against her clit with far more intensity.

Her orgasm preceded his by mere seconds, and she came with a series of loud, drawn-out moans. She dropped forward onto his chest and he eased out of her as his cock softened. 

Drowsiness began to overcome them both, so Rex worked quickly, making sure that they were both cleaned up before sliding under several of the blankets he’d brought for them. 

“You thought of everything,” she observed, nestling against him.

“Have you ever known me to go into the field unprepared?”

Their bodies were soaked in sweat, which was rapidly drying in the cool air and causing both of them to shiver. Rex pulled Ahsoka close, and laced their fingers together, suddenly wide awake, and surprised to find that she felt the same.

They lay in silence for a while afterwards. The fire crackled comfortingly nearby, casting light and warmth over them as they stared up at the star-laden sky.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” she said quietly.

“It’s always felt like our spot. I wanted to show you before…”

“Before we have to split up again.” Ahsoka sounded sad, her tone an accurate reflection of his mood.

“It’s only temporary,” he assured her. She tucked herself closer to him, curving her body against his.

“What will you do?,” she asked, resting her cheek against his chest, just beside his heart beat.

“I’m going to stay on Lothal,” he said. “It’s a good crew. The kid needs me here, they all do. Especially now. And you?”

“I need to go. I have to find Bail, find out what’s going on at his end. I’ve missed so much.”

Rex sighed and stared at the stars, idly tracing lines along Ahsoka’s spine.

“What is it?” she asked.

“This feels so much like it did before.”

“Before Malachor?”

“No,” he said, looking at her, her warm skin illuminated in the firelight. “Before the end of the last war. Things are moving quickly. Changing. Everything seems so final.”

“It’ll be ok,” Ahsoka said sitting up and pulling one of the blankets around herself.

“That’s what we thought about Mandalore too, and I didn’t see you for 16 years after that.”

Rex sat up too, the seriousness of his next words weighing on him too much to remain laying down. 

“I can’t wait that long,” he said. “I don’t know if I  _ have _ 16 more years.” 

“What kind of talk is that?”

“It’s the truth,” he said simply. “I’m probably the oldest living Clone. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me, the longer I live.”

“I don’t want to hear this.” Her voice broke. “It’s not fair.”

He hated hurting her like this, but he’d had a long time to consider the point, and had found a sort of peace in being prepared.

“We know better than most people that life rarely is.”

“But we’ve already lost two years. When I found you again that was…we were supposed to have time together.”

“We’re together now. And we will be after all this settles down.”

“How do you know it will?”

“Call it intuition,” he teased. “Battle instinct. This is a fight I  _ know _ we will win.”

Ahsoka slipped into his lap, and gently caressed his shoulders, her bare skin pressing directly against his and warming him in the way a blanket never could. He caught her gaze and held it.

“I’m scared,” she admitted.

“Don’t be. Just come back to me.”

“Rex-”

“I mean it, Ahsoka. When all this business is done on Yavin, you find me. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“You’re in more danger than I am, out here with a small crew.”

Ahsoka wound her arms tighter around his shoulders as his wrapped around her waist. 

“Stay alive and come home, Commander Rex. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

“Where’s home?” he asked.

“It’s wherever we are. So you come home to me, as soon as you can.” 

She pressed her forehead to his.

“Do I make myself clear?” she whispered.

“Yes, Commander.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the reception to this little two-parter! I hope the mix of laughs, smut and feels was enough to offset the tears from part one!

**Author's Note:**

> Part two is coming this week, please don't yell at me!


End file.
